Hongjun held a stack of paper in his hand and carried a fish on his back as he entered Jinchang Square. Early in the morning, Zhao Zilong was still sleeping on his back. The fish opened its mouth and yawned.
"Do you think it'll work if I put up a notice to find the cat?"
"Who can tell that it's a cat with your scribbles?" the Carp Demon said.
Hongjun looked around. Taking advantage of the fact that there were fewer people in the early morning, he threw out his grappling hook and flew up to the eaves. He then climbed up the Wild Goose Tower and leaped up level by level until he reached the top of the Wild Goose Tower. He hugged his knees and sat down.
Under the blue sky and white clouds, Chang 'an was bathed in the morning breeze. In the land of Divine Prefecture, the human race had actually built such a luxurious and spectacular city. He couldn't help but feel relaxed and happy.
Hongjun looked down at the stack of cat drawings in his hand. He thought that it would be great if he was in the Dazzling Gold Palace. Qing Xiong and Chong Ming would talk to the birds. It would be much faster to send two falcons to find the cat.
"Let's go back after the breeze," the Carp Demon said. "It's always dry outside in autumn. It's not very comfortable."
"I feel that he's so miserable," Hongjun said. "It's not easy for everyone. I'd better help him find the cat."
The Carp Demon said, "You can't be overly compassionate."
Hongjun said, "If the cat is found, will the officials treat him better in the future?"
Hongjun roughly learned from the Carp Demon last night that there was a strict hierarchy in the human world and the reason why Li Jinglong was not successful. Although he couldn't completely digest it, he could basically understand that it was because the Emperor and the officials didn't like him.
"Don't be silly." The Carp Demon said, "It's hard to eliminate prejudice. Some people will do more vicious things than the demons once they're ready to risk everything. Who would admit that Li Jinglong is capable? Wouldn't that be slapping their own faces? I think they'll just let him continue to look for cats and dogs. "
A thought suddenly flashed through Hong Jun's mind. He muttered to himself, "Why did this cat run away? What scared you? "
"You think the same as me. I'm afraid you saw something you shouldn't have." Li Jinglong's voice suddenly came from the highest floor of Wild Goose Pagoda. Hongjun was startled and almost slipped down.
Unexpectedly, he and Li Jinglong had the same idea. They both climbed to the highest point of Chang 'an and pondered over the city's scenery. Thereupon Hongjun lowered the hook rope to let Li Jinglong climb up and sit on top of the pagoda.
"When did you come?" Hongjun felt guilty and couldn't help but look at Li Jinglong.
Li Jinglong answered, "Start with 'I feel he's so miserable'."
Hongjun was extremely embarrassed. Li Jinglong frowned and said, "I just went to Madame Qin's Mansion. That night, the cat saw something and was scared. Cats have a strange spirituality towards evil spirits. They don't move easily. In this Chang 'an city, how many families have better food and accommodation than Madame Qin's Mansion? So I guess this thing scared the cat so much that it didn't want to go back. "
"Maybe it got lost?" Hongjun asked.
"Not likely." Li Jinglong shook his head.
"Was it hidden?" Hongjun said again.
"Who is so fearless to hide Madame Qin's cat?" Li Jinglong said, "The six armies have been searching for it for more than ten days. They even put up bounties everywhere. We already know what we should know … If I'm not wrong, it must be hiding somewhere in the city. I guess it's a place close to Madame Qin's Mansion. Let's go."
Hongjun suddenly felt that Li Jinglong seemed to be very smart.
Li Jinglong climbed down to the top of the pagoda. Hongjun turned around and threw the grappling hook from the top of the pagoda to a nearby roof. Then he pulled Li Jinglong up. They walked all the way along the roof. When they reached the end, they jumped over.
"Do you think there are many monsters in Chang 'an?" Hongjun suddenly thought and asked Li Jinglong, who was walking in front of him.
Li Jinglong answered, "The evil spirits and ghost fog have been out of control for a long time. Every night when a group of monsters dance wildly, it's not like the Chang 'an in front of you."
"How do you feel?" Hongjun also felt a little bit, but it was not as strong as Li Jinglong's. After three thousand beats of the Drum of Dusk every night, the whole Chang 'an seemed to change. It seemed that something was happening in a place he didn't know.
Li Jinglong patted the sword at his waist and didn't answer.
"Did this sword tell you? How many monsters do you think there are in Chang 'an? "Hongjun asked again.
"Tens of thousands." Li Jinglong turned his head and glanced at Hongjun.
Hongjun remembered what Chong Ming said before they parted. Chang 'an's city was occupied by monsters. But after so long, he didn't find any monsters. Were they too good at hiding, or was he too slow?
"Monkey." The Carp Demon behind Hongjun suddenly said.
"What?"
Li Jinglong and Hongjun were both confused. They stood on the roof outside the East Market. Suddenly, something flew from the side and hit Li Jinglong's face. The two were startled and turned around at the same time. However, they heard an endless "Ji Ji Ji" sound. A little monkey was squatting on the roof of the Blue Flower Hall outside the East Market, looking at the two of them.
"This …" Li Jinglong was about to go forward and chase it away when Hongjun suddenly remembered that he released a monkey that was fooled in the market that day. He laughed and said, "Ah! So it's you! "
Hong Jun waved at the little monkey. The monkey dragged the iron chain and ran over with tinkling sounds. After escaping from the monkey player, its complexion seemed to be better. Occasionally, it would get some food from kind-hearted people. It held a moldy steamed bun in its hand and kept passing it to Hongjun, asking him to eat it.
Hongjun could only accept the moldy steamed bun and feed it to the Carp Demon. The Carp Demon was unhappy and said, "This steamed bun …"
"You can eat it." Hongjun stuffed bits and pieces into the Carp Demon's mouth. He also took out a throwing knife and pried open the shackles on the little monkey's neck.
Li Jinglong said, "The monkeys brought by the monkey player can all understand human language. Since it has been running around for days and is wandering around nearby, you can ask it if it has seen the cat."
Hongjun said in his heart, "Yes!" He hurriedly took out the cat in his hand and showed it to the monkey. Li Jinglong said, "The cat you drew … is this a cat you drew?!"
Li Jinglong almost fell off the eaves again. Hongjun drew three big and small circles on the paper. There was also a crooked, worm-like tail and two pointed ears. It looked like a monster.
The monkey tilted its head and made a few "ji" sounds, indicating that Hongjun should follow it. It ran away like a wisp of smoke.
"No way!" The Carp Demon said, "It really understood!"
Hongjun hurriedly picked it up and followed the monkey with Li Jinglong. They went all the way to the outside of Pingkang. The East Market had opened, and it was already bustling with noise and excitement. Li Jinglong still had some psychological trauma. He walked far away from people and bent his body to avoid being seen.
As soon as the monkey stopped, Hongjun saw it and exclaimed, "Ah!"
Between the two brothels in Pingkang, Liu Ying Chun Xiao and Yi Shi Lang, at the end of the eaves, there was a white thing. It was like a duster, motionless, lying down and basking in the sun.
"Is that it?" Hongjun immediately turned his head.
"Don't be nervous, don't be nervous!" Li Jinglong never thought that he would actually find it! It was clear that Hongjun's luck was simply too good. Catching this cat was not to the extent of being elated, but it was a ruthless slap to the face of Liu Jun … However, the cat that had been searched everywhere in the city had actually fallen into his hands and was solved so easily? He simply could not believe it!
"Should we call Mo Rigen and the others?" Hongjun asked, "What if it's not?"
Previously, Li Jinglong himself had said that if they were lucky enough to find it, they should not beat the grass and startle the cat. Who knew if it was true or not?
However, when they went to the Qin Mansion, they found out that this cat breed was very expensive. Presumably, they would not be able to find a second one even if they searched the entire Chang 'an City.
"No need." Li Jinglong lowered his voice vigilantly and said, "They're most likely slacking off. Let's catch it first. Who cares if it's a cat or not. I'll go around to the back, and you go from the front. Do you have a net?"
"Yes, yes." Hongjun also became nervous after hearing what he said.
"Don't alarm the people below." Li Jinglong instructed again, "In case it runs away again."
Hongjun nodded blankly. Li Jinglong made a hand gesture, pressed down, and then bent over to go around.
"You don't have to go so far." The Carp Demon said, "It's just a cat."
Hongjun: "You wait …"
The Carp Demon: "No way! I won't accompany you to surround it! Have you forgotten what I am?! "
Hongjun remembered that the Carp Demon was also a fish, and seemed to have a natural fear of cats and bears, so he could only give up. Li Jinglong made a huge turn, and went around until Hongjun could not see him anymore. Then, he became a small black dot from fifty steps away and slowly approached.
Hongjun held the net and approached carefully, trying not to make a sound. The cat still looked lazy, basking in the sun on the eaves.
He got closer and closer. The cat in the middle was motionless, and its body gently rose and fell with its breathing, as if it was sleeping.
Li Jinglong was less than ten feet away from the cat. He stopped and made a hand gesture to Hongjun. Hongjun bowed, opened the net with both hands, and walked over step by step …
Suddenly, the cat opened its eyes and saw Li Jinglong. Both of them were stunned for a moment, and then Li Jinglong shouted, "Do it!"
Then, Li Jinglong pounced, and Hongjun opened the net and rushed up.
In Li Jinglong's ideal situation, the cat should have been frightened by him and pounced on Hongjun, just in time to be caught by Hongjun's net. However, the cat suddenly turned into a shadow, and with a swoosh, it slid past Li Jinglong's crotch.
Li Jinglong: "!!!"
Then, Hongjun also turned sideways and slid past Li Jinglong's crotch.
"Don't run!" Hongjun held the net and was about to catch the cat, but he stepped on a loose tile, and a thought flashed through his mind.
This cat was too cunning! It had become a spirit!
In the next moment, Hongjun left Spring Dawn and fell down the stairs of the Leaning Poem Railing. Below were all food stalls that had just opened. However, Li Jinglong grabbed him and dragged him up.
Hongjun looked at the alley and saw that it was facing a big soup pot of a noodle stall. He instantly thought that it was a close call. If he fell like this, he might be fine, but Zhao Zilong could only stay in that pot forever.
"Shh." Li Jinglong took Hongjun to hide behind. They saw the cat jump into the third floor of the Leaning Poem Railing, go through the unlocked window, and disappear.
Hongjun panted and said, "I tried my best …"
"It's okay." Li Jinglong said, "It's easy as long as we know where it is. Let's go!"
The two leaped over and gently flipped down from the eaves. Hongjun whispered, "Let me do it. Aren't you afraid of being …"
"We're not that unlucky." Li Jinglong whispered.
The Leaning Poem Railing was a brothel that scholars in Chang 'an City liked to visit the most. The courtyard was also very elegantly decorated. After entering the window, they landed in a narrow corridor. Inside the narrow corridor, there were room after room. The outside of the room was engraved with door plates, such as "Bringing in the Wine", "Spring Dawn", "Jade Terrace Spring", and so on.
"Let's split up and look." Li Jinglong said, "Zhao Zilong also help. Also, Monkey, Hongjun, you tell them."
The Carp Demon originally refused, but Hongjun had already put it down. It could only tremble with fear and clamp its fish head between an unlocked door and look inside. Monkey responded to Hongjun's pointing and immediately understood and went to another room.
"After you find it, come out quietly." Hongjun said, "You don't have to catch it." Then he stuffed the Carp Demon in.
"You go left, I'll go right." Li Jinglong whispered.
Late in the morning, the girls in the Leaning Poem Railing were all gone. Hongjun also entered a room and looked around. The smell of cosmetics assailed his nostrils. Each room was decorated elegantly and luxuriously. Presumably, the girls who lived here were all famous. Li Jinglong's guess was right. This cat really did find a place similar to the Qin State's Mansion to stay.
The Carp Demon entered a room. The mantou it ate before was too dry and choked a bit. It ran to a basin to drink water. As it drank, it felt a bit strange. It said, "Foot washing water, bad luck." Then it stopped drinking. When it looked around, it suddenly saw a painting on the wall. It was Zhang Xuan's "Spring Brook Carp Painting". The carp in the painting was very lifelike and the willow branches swayed. It immediately opened its mouth and looked at it motionlessly.
"Beauty! Beauty! "The Carp Demon moved closer. Its saliva was almost dripping down.
At this moment, it suddenly heard the sound of claws scratching the wood behind it. The Carp Demon's body suddenly stiffened. Its scales and leg hair all stood up. Its mouth made a soft sound and it looked back in fear.
The Lion Eye cat was squatting on the top of a high cabinet. One of its eyes was green and the other was gold. It lowered its head and stared at the Carp Demon with bad intentions.
The Carp Demon was suddenly scared out of its wits. It shouted, "Someone — —!"
In the next room, Li Jinglong and Hongjun heard the noise from the middle room at the same time. They immediately rushed over like a gust of wind.
The Lion Eye cat jumped down from the top of the cabinet and directly pounced on the Carp Demon! The Carp Demon was so frightened that it drilled under the couch and hid.
When Hongjun and Li Jinglong pushed the door open and rushed in, the cat meowed and drilled under the couch. The Carp Demon screamed and drilled out from the other side of the couch. It ran for its life and flapped its tail to hide in the cabinet.
"Found it!" Li Jinglong turned around and closed the door. This time, it couldn't escape.
Hongjun crawled under the couch to grab it. However, this wooden couch was different from the one he usually slept on. It was made of expensive mahogany. The back of the couch was against the wall. The three sides facing the outside were blocked, leaving only a few wooden railings. Hongjun saw that the cat was hiding in the darkness and looking at him with its Yin Yang Eyes.
Li Jinglong reached his arm in to grab the cat, but the cat hid even deeper. Hongjun said, "What should we do?"
Li Jinglong's elbow was too strong and was stuck in the railing.
Hongjun: "…"
Li Jinglong: "…"
Hongjun reached his hand in, but the cat was calm and licked its paws. It didn't care about the two of them at all.
"I'll lift the bed."
"It ran away as soon as I lifted it." Hongjun said, "Open a crack. I'll go in and grab it."
Thereupon Li Jinglong exerted his strength and shouted, "Up!" He lifted up the large couch that weighed more than four hundred catties, leaving a gap that was only big enough for one person to enter. Immediately Hong Jun rolled on the ground and went in.
The space under the couch wasn't big. There were also piles of things like wooden pillars and scrolls wrapped in cloth. The cat instantly became angry and wanted to run away. Hongjun reached out and grabbed its paws, saying, "I got it!"
Li Jinglong said, "Hold it tight first! Don't let it run away again! "
At this moment, a voice came from outside.
"I can't come at night, so I can only look at you during the day …"
Li Jinglong turned his head instantly. The man's voice was very familiar and his pupils contracted violently. Suddenly, he reached out and pulled his elbow out with all his might.
Hongjun hugged the cat and used his knees to support the top of the couch, trying his best to lift the wooden couch.
"Chief Inspector, please lift the bed again so that I can come out …"
However, no sooner said than done, Li Jinglong rolled on the ground and also squeezed in. At the same time, he supported the couch and carefully put it down.
Hongjun was just about to speak when Li Jinglong hugged him from behind. He quickly reached out and covered his mouth, telling him not to speak. As soon as the wooden couch was put down, the door was pushed open. The man's footsteps were steady and powerful as he entered the room accompanied by a girl's laughter.
The two of them sat on the couch and heard the man say, "Li Jinglong, that guy, went to Liu Ying Chun Xiao and caused the Long Wu Army to be reprimanded by the Censorate. He can't come these few days and really made this official miss him."
Hongjun opened his eyes wide and glanced sideways at Li Jinglong. Li Jinglong slowly let go of his hand and made a shushing gesture. Then, he pinched the cat's mouth in Hongjun's arms. Hongjun hugged the cat while Li Jinglong hugged Hongjun from behind. Squeezed under the narrow couch, Hongjun could feel that Li Jinglong's heart was beating very violently. His chest was wide and strong, and his body was also burning hot.
Li Jinglong's face was full of hostility because the person who came to visit was his former superior in the Long Wu Army, Hu Sheng, the commander-in-chief of the Long Wu Army. At that time, it was precisely because he didn't believe in himself that he was ridiculed by everyone in the army. He was even ridiculed by Yang Guozhong.
At this time, Hu Sheng was hugging the girl on the couch and kissing her. His mouth was full of "Jin Yun". Jin Yun began to pant and soon rolled together on the couch. Her words were very licentious.
Hongjun's heartbeat suddenly sped up. He hadn't done anything for sixteen years. Unexpectedly, he was hugged from behind by Li Jinglong. The two of them were hugging each other in an extremely ambiguous position. He heard a scene that he had never seen before. To him, that sound was simply a huge shock. Hu Sheng's various tricks were endless, making him blush.
What was even more embarrassing was that he felt that Li Jinglong, who was hugging him from behind, was breathing a lot heavier. That thing was still hard and hard, poking him.
Hongjun swallowed hard. Li Jinglong unconsciously hugged Hongjun a little tighter. Hongjun's hand that was holding the cat also tightened. The cat was very uncomfortable from being strangled. Its two claws clawed fiercely and kept struggling.
Hongjun was worried that the noise would disturb the two people on the couch, so he grabbed the cat's claws and held it down. Unexpectedly, the cat's claws hooked onto the pile of miscellaneous items under the bed and pulled it over.
When the linen was pulled away, a dead person's head was instantly exposed. Hongjun suddenly leaned back and cried out.
Hongjun: "Ah — —!"
Li Jinglong: "!!!"
In that split second, Li Jinglong first covered Hongjun's mouth, then covered his eyes, and tightly protected him in his arms.
Just at this moment, Jin Yun on the couch was also screaming. Her voice covered Hongjun's voice. Hu Sheng was in the midst of making love and did not notice.
Hongjun's hair stood on end. It was the first time he stared at a dead person's face so closely. He was almost scared out of his wits. When he came back to his senses, he was only panting wildly. Li Jinglong's face was full of shock. He could not believe it. He tightened his arms again, indicating that Hongjun should not be afraid.
On the couch, Hu Sheng was also panting. Apparently, he was done and was still talking to Jin Yun.
Hongjun looked at the dead person's face and found that the dead person seemed to have been placed here for a long time. Its mouth was open, the skin on its face had already dried and turned black, and its eyes were empty. Li Jinglong gently reached out and untied the cloth. He saw that the mummy's body was curled up. It was wearing a white cloth, and it shrank into the innermost part of the bed in fear.
Hongjun touched Li Jinglong's arm. Li Jinglong's hand was also full of goosebumps.
Hu Sheng smiled and said, "I'm leaving now."
"You're leaving now?" Jin Yun said reluctantly.
"I'll come to see you another day." Hu Sheng hugged Jin Yun and kissed her cheek. He put on his clothes and pushed the door out. Jin Yun also followed and sent Hu Sheng out.
Not long after, the two of them came out from under the couch. Li Jinglong could not stop panting. He looked at Hongjun, and his eyes were full of confusion.
Hongjun said, "What should we do?"
Li Jinglong thought for a moment and said, "We can't stay here for long. This is a serious matter. Don't alarm them first."